Chapter 74: Robben's Cut-In, Fixed Thinking, One Dragon Two Ways to Devour
Play continued.
Manchester City kicked off and the ball was soon pushed into the final third. David Silva slipped a through ball to the edge of the penalty area; Thomas Vermaelen beat Edin Džeko to it and cleared the ball out of the box.
Vermaelen's two standout plays, together with his usual conscientious play, won the approval of Arsenal fans.
They shouted, "Who is Umtiti?" in support of Vermaelen.
On the stand, Samuel Umtiti was unexpectedly hit by that taunt; he awkwardly raised his hands and shrugged with an embarrassed smile.
Arsène Wenger's face darkened as he signaled to the fans behind him that that kind of behavior was inappropriate.
On the pitch Vermaelen had no time to deal with this.
The clearance was intercepted from Mikel Arteta by Gareth Barry and Javi García.
The ball was played back into the box.
Vermaelen again!
He produced another world-class defensive moment: a sliding tackle in the area that cleared the ball out of the box.
Thunderous applause rang around the stadium; Wenger, Umtiti, Mario Balotelli… all the Arsenal people rose to clap.
"Vermaelen highlight moment — Umtiti's arrival has spurred him on."
"This is the benefit of healthy competition."
"Arsenal fans should support that healthy competition."
"Heh, fans are emotional — how many are truly rational? I believe Vermaelen as captain will handle dressing-room conflicts well. Wherever people gather there's politics; champions turn that conflict into motivation, and…"
Play resumed.
Cazorla hoofed the ball forward, but Joleon Lescott heads it to Barry near the halfway line.
Both sides fought fiercely in midfield.
In the 14th minute, Kieran Gibbs miskicked a clearance from deep; the ball fell to David Silva, who immediately unleashed a powerful strike from the edge of the box.
The shot had pace but was central; Vito Mannone tipped it up onto the crossbar with one hand.
City earned the match's first corner.
David Silva's right-sided corner was headed out of the box by Per Mertesacker, and Arsenal began to counter amid their fans' encouragement.
But the ball landed at Jack Wilshere's feet and Pablo Zabaleta cut in and stole it.
City resumed their attack.
The ball went out to the right; Carlos Tevez timed his run perfectly and quickly sent a cross from the byline.
The utility man James Milner arrived at the far post to meet it; in a critical moment Mannone got down and, with the tips of his fingers, just managed to parry the ball over the line.
Mannone, having made a successful save, came off clutching his hand in pain.
Milner's shot had been struck with too much power and from close range; Mannone's fingertips were injured.
Arsenal's physio rushed on; after treatment Mannone could not continue.
Wenger had no choice but to bring on the fourth-choice goalkeeper Martínez.
"How is Mannone's injury? If it's serious, Arsenal are in trouble."
"Arsenal's luck is terrible. Just as the team was improving and the stingy owner had been generous, the goalkeeper position becomes a crisis: first-choice Wojciech Szczęsny, second-choice Vito Mannone, third-choice Łukasz Fabiański — all injured…"
"Good things come with trials; maybe there's a rainbow after the storm."
Martínez came on to warm applause from Arsenal fans, replacing the injured Mannone.
He came through Arsenal's youth ranks and was currently the club's fourth-choice keeper. He would later grow into Villa's number one and lift the Champions League with Lionel Messi — but that was a story for later.
The crowd applauded but felt anxious; everyone thought Arsenal's future looked bleak.
Wenger felt the same; his face was colder than the "Ice Cream Prince" — Xia Qi.
Play continued.
City swung in their second corner from the right.
The ball flew to the near post and Martínez leapt and caught it with both hands.
Martínez's first save lit up the eyes of the watching crowd; even the usually impassive Wenger excitedly gestured on the touchline.
Arsenal fans applauded again.
Because of their lack of faith in the keeper situation, Arsenal's midfield dared not push too far forward — more energy went into securing the back.
With that approach, how could Arsenal's attack find its form?
City seized the chance and fired two more shots.
Online:
"After Xia Qi scored one, Arsenal forgot how to play."
"Is this the gun factory that's been hot in the Premier League recently? Why does it look so much like Leyang Steel Plant?"
"Joe Hart's frozen and caught a cold. If I'd known I could be City's keeper for free — just don't let me catch a cold, I won't take wages."
Wenger was worried but played the role of composed leader on the touchline; he feared putting too much pressure on the players, especially on Martínez.
By contrast, Roberto Mancini was furious at his players' wastefulness, constantly barking instructions for off-the-ball movement.
Online:
"Xia Qi has dropped back; Podolski's the only outlet up front."
"Arsenal's midfield is too soft — I don't understand why Wenger didn't buy a defensive midfielder in January."
"No money, obviously. Defensive midfielders cost a fortune, especially in a market that's priced out of reach. Everyone knows Arsenal will strengthen in winter aiming for the title — who else are they to squeeze? A 17-year-old Luke Shaw costs £15.8 million; if Wenger bought a DM he'd need seventy or eighty million?? Then there'd be no money to fill other positions."
"And Cazorla + Arteta is not top class, but just barely good enough. When it's not enough, isn't half of Xia Qi still there? Look, Xia Qi's back."
Some fans guessed Wenger's mindset with uncanny clarity.
But they were wrong about one thing: Kevin De Bruyne is far better than Xia Qi at organizing the number-10 role. Of course no one knew that at the time, not even Wenger; he signed De Bruyne to hedge against Jack Wilshere's injury-prone nature.
...
Emirates Stadium.
Xia Qi dropped deep into his own half and demanded the ball.
Wilshere, with a dark look, played a diagonal pass to Xia Qi.
He wasn't angry at Xia Qi personally but at his midfield partners.
Like Vermaelen, he felt threatened — De Bruyne would likely be the one coming on as substitute for him; that's pressure!
One pass from De Bruyne like that long ball makes you doubt whether he's here just to be a sub.
(Do not flame: in the 2012–2013 season De Bruyne's reputation was indeed not as loud as Wilshere's.)
Xia Qi received the ball and immediately powered forward.
Arsenal fans all rose to their feet; after being pushed around for a dozen minutes, they finally launched a counterattack.
Everyone's eyes feverishly followed Xia Qi.
Mario Balotelli smugly nudged Kevin De Bruyne.
"You know what? I taught Xia how to dribble."
De Bruyne coldly replied, "He shouldn't have been brought back."
"Huh?? Hey mate, we're attacking!"
"It's better nearer the goal; there the attack is stronger."
"But you need a ball to do that."
"I'll pass it to you — trust me? Mario."
"Of course, I'm your big brother, you're my little brother…"
...
City quickly reorganized defensively.
On the sideline Mancini made a gesture to his players: don't let Xia Qi get into dangerous spaces; try to deal with him in midfield.
James Milner, David Silva, and Gaël Clichy closed in as a cluster when Xia Qi burst past the halfway line.
Wilshere saw danger and sprinted toward Xia Qi; he wanted to provide an outlet.
But after a couple of steps Barry cut across and cut off the link between Wilshere and Xia Qi.
"Those bastards are too much; I'll do it on the pitch myself," Balotelli grumbled and slapped his thigh in frustration.
Xia Qi ignored City's converging block and didn't pass before the trap closed.
He kept going.
It looked like Xia Qi was walking into an encirclement step by step.
All Arsenal fans' hearts tightened.
City fans were tense too; they knew the Premier League's top scorer wouldn't stupidly get trapped.
Milner and Silva — one to each side — blocked Kolarov's approach a step ahead of him.
As the three were about to create a "pile-up" moment, Xia Qi accelerated a second time.
Milner swore inside: shit, he actually wants to eat them alive!
He slid in toward the ball.
David Silva pounced at the same moment.
A sliding tackle,
a pouncing tiger —
it seemed Xia Qi was doomed.
But Xia Qi gently used the outside of his left foot to nudge the ball to the left while violently planting his right foot into the turf and executed a triple acceleration — Milner and Silva were left behind.
"Robben cut in!"
"My god! Xia Qi's football IQ! Robben's cut-in is normally to shoot; Xia Qi used it to beat defenders. Milner slid and missed; David Silva pounced and missed."
"Robben's change of direction is so hard to defend because at the instant of the move his dual-speed amplifies, exceeding expectations and causing a misjudgment.
Xia Qi did the same — in that change he increased speed and instantly left the defenders."
"When you watch Xia Qi you're never bored; he constantly invents new tricks that surprise us, but after he uses them you feel they should have been obvious.
Like just now, I never thought to use a Robben-style cut to beat players. I'm astonished at what Xia Qi can do — and then you realize, of course, it works."
"That's fixed thinking. We always see Robben cut in and shoot or cross; we never see him use that move to dribble past someone. Our subconscious expects a shot. Xia Qi just taught us a lesson."
Emirates fell silent for a second and then erupted.
On the pitch, after beating two men Xia Qi faced Gaël Clichy.
While decelerating, he suddenly dropped his left shoulder downward.
Clichy immediately shifted toward the middle.
But Xia Qi flicked the ball back to his right foot; the right toe nudged forward and both the ball and man slid past Clichy.
Clichy forced himself to change balance at that instant and ended up crashing down with a thud.
"Devoured Clichy."
"Sympathies for Clichy's knees for three seconds."
"Is Messi's shoulder drop that effective? Tomorrow afternoon I'll try it. Anyone up for a session at Shenzhen Clearwater Bay?"
After bypassing Clichy, Xia Qi quickly surged to about thirty odd meters from City's goal.
Lescott panicked; without consulting Vincent Kompany he charged out.
Kompany shouted, "Whoa!"
As if he saw the next second: the reckless lad would be eaten by Xia Qi…
But he wasn't.
Xia Qi continued to pedal with quick step-overs; Lescott felt dizzy and then saw Xia Qi's right foot shift outward.
Annoyed, he attempted a cross step.
At that instant Xia Qi nudged the ball with his left foot and drove off with the right to shoot left.
By the time Lescott stopped and turned back to chase, Xia Qi had cut into the box.
Kompany had been waiting; sensing the player was off-balance, he lunged forward and slid at the ball while also colliding into Xia Qi.
That tackle was fierce and swift — Kompany's signature style.
Xia Qi had no choice but to knock the ball across; Joe Hart, delighted, saw the ball slip from Xia Qi's control and immediately came off his line.
After putting the ball away, Xia Qi used his legs to power past Kompany's challenge and chased the loose ball.
Xia Qi and Hart reached the ball almost simultaneously; seeing Xia Qi bearing down frightened Hart, and he slid in a desperation tackle at the ball.
That gave Xia Qi the opportunity: he nudged the ball ahead and it rolled past Hart's toe into the empty net behind.
Then Hart's tackle brought Xia Qi down.
Everything happened in a flash.
From Xia Qi's cut inside to his finish, only a little over three seconds had elapsed — fans were dazzled.
"Xia Qi cut into the box."
"Beautiful, he's past Kompany!"
"Hart!"
"Flick shot!"
"Goal! Xia Qi scores his second of the night, taking his single-season Premier League tally to 42 goals; each strike is a new record."
"In football, the law of retaliation works — City dominated Arsenal for 18 minutes, wasted many chances, and were punished."
"There are too many matches where the dominant side ends up behind on the score — City are neither the first nor the last to suffer that fate."
"Tonight, City's tactics were aimed at containing Arsenal, but Xia Qi is too strong and added another personal strike."
Beep!
At the referee's whistle, Emirates trembled once more.
The stadium DJ screamed hysterically:
"Who scored for us?"
The whole Arsenal crowd answered: "Xia… Qi!"
Then the DJ continued:
"From a defensive pick-up to a solo thousand-mile ride, Xia Qi performed crazily at Emirates, but unlike before, this time he used acrobatic moves to dribble. He showed us another way the dragon eats."
"One dragon, two ways to devour! One is to eat them raw; the other is circus-style. Which do you prefer?"
"We like them both."
Watching the happy interaction between Arsenal fans and the DJ, City supporters felt bitter — that joy should have been theirs.
Suddenly they regretted traveling; losing hurts, and losing this way is torture.
Why spend money and get no pleasure?
On the pitch Hart pulled Xia Qi up, patted his backside and said: "Six, no less than six."
In AI-control mode Xia Qi didn't ask what six? He turned and walked toward the center circle.
In Xia Qi's head he kept puzzling what "six" meant and why it couldn't be less than six?
Six-perfect-luck?
That's a bit tough.
(END CHAPTER)
Get 30% off on my Patreon and enjoy early access to new chapters.
You can also purchase the next 100 chapters of the novel directly from my Patreon page.
Hurry up! The promotion ends on March 2, 2026.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Bankai10